Belira: The Kaerling, #15

By Freya Pickard

Lored and Otta must set aside their differences in order to survive a long, dark journey in the bowels of the earth.

 

I could almost feel like I was there with them because the descriptions were very vivid. Elizabeth B

 

They've been driven underground by a fire-breathing monster, but who is pursing them now?

 

With invisible enemies behind them, the two companions must stay ahead of those who wish them harm, as they seek to find a way through the maze of tunnels in a deserted Belira mine.

 

As Otta's powers wax with each mile, Lored's taku-kevir talent weakens. Who will survive to see the sun once more?

 

This dark fantasy series takes the reader on a believable journey into the heart of darkness itself. If you enjoy books by George RR Martin, JRR Tolkien and Tara Saunders, you will love this story!

 

The Kaerling is a series of linked novellas that can be read individually, as well as in chronological order.

 

Warning: contains scenes of violence, which some readers may find upsetting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Freya Pickard
• Release date: Jul 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224395903

Freya Pickard

Pushcart Prize nominee, Freya Pickard, is the quirky, unusual author of The Kaerling series, an epic fantasy set in the strange and wonderful world of Nirunen. A cancer survivor, she writes mainly dark fantasy tales and creates expressive poetry in order to leach the darkness from her soul. Her aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing. She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). She enjoys Hatha Yoga, Bhangra and Yogalates and in her spare time creates water colours and pastel drawings of the worlds in her head.

Book preview

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Previously in The Kaerling series ...

THE MISSION OF THE 4 companions is simple; to rescue Derri and Lally from the kaerlings.

But, catching up with the kaerlings is anything but simple.

The kaerlings have reached their stronghold, Orosturbe.

The four companions finally arrive on the shores of Jargoiden but are soon separated from each other in an ambush.

Otta and Lored manage to escape from Ilyan bandits with the help of another prisoner, Gaudens. They flee to the mountains, only to lose their new friend in a landslide set off by Otta’s uncontrollable power.

Now with no path back to Port Haru no Hana, (where they are supposed to meet up with Tari and Erl), Lored and Otta must find another way to reach Orosturbe.

The events in Belira take place at the same time as the events in Ghost Wolf.

Year of the Unicorn Ascending

Jargoiden

Zangilan Ashurol

Day 12 - 27

Chapter One

Lored sighed and heard Otta grind her teeth behind him. He laughed quietly to himself as he eased the straps of his pack and gazed at the pile of boulders blocking their way. His left shoulder ached slightly, but his wounded flesh was clean and healing quickly. The leather strap caught on the pins in his robe that Gaudens had used to hold the material together. The taku-kevir settled the pack on his back and sighed again, leaning slightly on his oaken staff. The scrip hung from his neck, making his shoulders ache, even though the remedy box inside it, was not at all heavy.

The path leading down from the mine entrance was too steep for horses to negotiate, so they’d left them untethered, grazing on the grass in the vale before the cavern mouth. It had taken them from mid-morning until mid-afternoon to reach this point. The landslide was decades old with shrubs and tangled briars holding the large rocks firmly in place. The taku glanced either side of the heaped boulders and realised there was no way past the obstruction.

What now? Otta asked waspishly.

Lored kept a firm control on his emotions, resisting the impulse to seize the woman’s shoulders and shake some politeness into her. Turning, he saw her pointed face pale with fatigue framed by her leather helmet. When had they last had an undisturbed night’s rest? The strain of being captured by brigands was only just now beginning to take its toll. He looked for some sign of regret in Otta’s sharp expression but found none.

He felt bad that Gaudens, the man who had helped them escape the outlaws, had died so tragically, because Otta could not control the talent inside her. At least she had asked Lored to help her use her ability safely. That was something he’d never thought he’d hear her say. Not that they’d had any time yet for lessons. Surviving the cold mountain night and finding a way to the City of Bones were their priorities.

He had planned to return to Port Haru no Hana to find Tari and Erl, once they’d evaded the brigands, but Otta’s display of power further back in the mountains had put an end to that idea. There was no way down to the pine forest and the road that led to the coast. All he could think of doing now was pressing on towards Orosturbe and trying to rescue Derri and Lally by themselves. He hoped and prayed that Tari and Erl were safe. He could feel Tari was still alive through the enchantment he’d cast upon her, weeks before, but where she was or who she was with, he could not tell.

We’ll have to try another way, Lored sighed.

The only other option now was over the mountains. They were already high up where spring barely touched the landscape. Their provisions wouldn’t last forever and they needed to find a way down to the warmer valleys where summer flourished. There was always the mine, he thought, but rejected that idea immediately. Nilo had given him a wealth of information about the mines he’d travelled through more than ten years before, but there was no guarantee that what the Kimder had imparted to him, was still good.

Otta’s nostrils flared and she turned on her heel to climb the steep incline. Lored wearily followed her, trying not to feel annoyed at her attitude. Anyone would have thought that he’d arranged things to deliberately irritate her. Why did she take everything so personally? The girl didn’t slacken her pace, forging ahead in silence. Her slim legs clad in leather trousers and boots filled the taku’s vision. Her armoured coat gleamed dully beneath her grey cloak. Lored worked up a sweat as they painstakingly retraced their steps. Once he paused and mopped the moisture from his brow with his sleeve, the burgundy material darkening to blood red.

Stepping out again, Lored caught sight of Otta’s slim legs before him and felt the rise of desire inside. He suppressed the feeling. He should not be thinking those kinds of thoughts. Firstly, as a sworn taku, he was vowed to chastity. And secondly, Otta would either castrate or kill him if she realised he was thinking that way about her.

They continued to climb, Otta setting a brisk pace. The woman seemed untiring, as if she had the energy of one of the Zoratti. The cloud thickened, the chill air turning cooler, but still no rain fell.

Several hours passed before they paused to drink from their water flasks, now only half full, and to eat dried fruit. They spoke no word to each other, keeping their energy for the climb.

Setting out again, they scrambled up the shale-covered path, using the basalt walls of the mountain on either side for support. Where the trail levelled out they made better time. Overhead the clouds darkened, as far behind them, the sun sank towards the horizon.

The mountains were a bleak place, Lored reflected, feeling the pull of strained muscles in his thighs and calves. A few buzzards and eagles had called aloud during the day. Now, as twilight deepened, only the wind moaned.

As nocturnal shadows fell, they were still some way from the cave where they’d rested the previous night. The clouds overhead drifted apart, revealing faint stars pulsing in a black sky. No moon shone and the clouds continued to unravel.

Abruptly, Otta stopped, head tilting to one side. Lored climbed until he stood behind her. He rested his left shoulder against the basalt wall and exhaled slowly.

I thought I heard horses screaming. The woman turned to face him. The starlit night gave her kaerling-like features a morbid pallor.

Lored closed his eyes and listened. He could hear nothing except the wind muttering in the crags above them. The wind blew west to east and he could hear no sound of horses. He shook his head.

You’re younger than I. I can’t hear anything.

Otta narrowed her pale eyes, a frown creasing her forehead. Can you sense anything?

Lored let his senses spread out. Bare rock, cool air and... Something disturbed the atmosphere. Something disrupted the silence of the night bound mountains without making a sound. He opened his eyes to find Otta staring at him intently, her frost-blue eyes glittering in the darkness. He felt uncomfortable and wondered if she could see into his mind, even though they’d not shared thoughts since they’d escaped the brigands.

I still can’t hear anything unusual, but something is out there.

Should we shield ourselves?

Lored felt a moment of surprise. She’d never asked his opinion on anything before. Usually she’d simply use her ability to shield, as she had done on Nilo’s island when they’d seen the Death Stalker.

No, he said decisively. If it’s sensitive to power, shields might alert it to our presence.

She nodded and turned to the path once again. Lored followed her, keeping his senses stretched out, trying to determine what disrupted the night. Sweat beaded his brow and soaked his back within a few paces. An irrational rising horror in his belly sent darts of alarm throughout his body. Without warning, Otta dropped to the ground and Lored imitated her as something large and dark glided overhead.

A miasma of sulphur and harsh gases wafted over them and the taku stifled a cough in the sleeve of his Mykolan robes. The sound of compressed air hissed in the sky and Lored turned his head to see a vast creature soar above the path, blotting out starlight. He heard Otta’s intake of breath as the creature flapped its wings, turned in a large, leisurely curve and disappeared from sight.

Sharresh-idenru? Otta’s expression was unreadable when Lored turned to look at her.

He had thought she’d listened in on his conversations with Nilo, in spite of appearing bored around the campfires on the island. He nodded in affirmation. He’d never seen one before and was shocked at their size. It was impossible for such creatures to exist! Then he realised what the disturbance in the air had been; the sharresh-idenru were able to survive, defy gravity and fly by utilising talent. He shuddered, thinking of the devastation just one of the monsters could wreak. How many were there? That was something Nilo hadn’t been able to ascertain.

Do you think it saw us?

He gazed steadily at Otta’s kaerling-like features, wondering if she ever felt afraid. No, I don’t think so. But we’d better take care.

They crept along the steep path a few hundred yards at a time, pausing frequently to study the sky and using their talent to sense the creature’s return. It was fully dark when they reached the entrance to the mine and the grassy vale was bare of horse.

You did hear them, Lored told Otta. The presence of the sharresh-idenru probably scared them.

She gazed stonily at the empty valley and did not reply. Lored wondered if her hearing was sharper than his because of her younger years, or, if she had the hearing of the iendu? His thoughts turned to Kimorka who had been convinced that Erl was part iendu. And if that was so, then it would be logical that Otta had the traits of that race. With a shock, he realised that he no longer felt the pang he’d always experienced when thinking of Kimorka. He felt sad at the loss of emotion. But it was as the Zoratti had told him; Kimorka was not for him.

He watched Otta’s expression turn from neutral to wariness and felt again a spark of desire in his soul. Surely not! He could not have transferred his feelings from Kimorka to a kaerling-look-alike who detested him? Otta’s cold eyes seared him and he realised he was wool-gathering.

It’s returning.

He didn’t need to ask her to clarify her statement. He could feel the disturbance in the air.

Ruddy-orange illumination flared up in the twisting ravine that led out of the grassy bowl in front of them. Lored clearly heard the scream of a horse that was cut off abruptly.

Into the cavern. He pushed Otta towards the entrance of the mine.

They hurried past the pool of water and the horses’ saddles propped on boulders. A swirl of wind and foul vapour rushed into the mine and they turned to see a starlit wing brush past the opening. Something heavy and moist thumped onto the ground